Hoods Maketh the Ashura
by Angelus Erreare
Summary: Shin Megami Tensei: DDS Argilla ponders over the accessories each of her teammates posses that make them unique. Gale's hood was just one of those...WARNING: SEMAU, LANGUAGE, SENSUALITY, SLIGHT GORE&CANNIBALISM. ONESHOT! Onesided ArgillaxGale


**Hoods Maketh the Ashura**

**By: Angelus Erreare**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. All belongs to ATLUS USA.**

**A/N: This is a relief fic from my supposed relief fic that had apparently gone out of hand, "Youth Wasted on the Aged". Anyway, this was just an idea that struck me…Oh well. It was inspired by one of my late night conversations with my handsome Scottish friend Izzy. hugs Izzy **

**Izzy, you may not be writing anymore, but…this fic is for you! It just reminds me of you! My super attractive Scottish friend! **

**NOTE: **

**There are the ATMA, ASHURA and JUNKYARD.**

**There is no Cybershaman; no Ashura Project and no Angel.**

**Fic is based on a post-apocalyptic scenario with apparent human evolution.**

**WARNING: SEMI-AU, OOC, MILD MAGUAGE, SUGGESTIVE THEMES, SENSUALITY, SLIGHT MENTION OF GORE AND CANNIBALISM.**

Argilla stared at the green-haired man in front of her as he steadily and stoically ran the briefing. So, another horde of rookies had been massing at the northern lands of Ajna…Ajna; she yawned.

They had conquered Ajna only a month before and the soldiers were being converted and the infrastructure being rebuilt…

Needless to say that there had been a lot of work done…

And needless to say that it was quite…cumbersome. She wrinkled her nose in boredom. But at least she could say that her situation wasn't a completely pitiable one.

Yes.

This briefing was headed by Gale…

'Yea…Gale…' she trailed off within her mind, glazing over his dark and mysterious features. She wanted to giggle right there as she pondered over her own thoughts.

He did look quite the catch, didn't he?

Oh yes…

'Yea…Those mesmerizing eyes…those lips…and that great body…' she thought mischievously, not seeing the harm in appraising him. And why should she? She was just appreciating him for what he was!

She had always found him quite attractive but never really contemplated over that issue any more than that. And as to why; well, there were many reasons. One. He wasn't the type to engage in relationships. He was a loner for Christ's sake!

Two. She wasn't in the mood to be the one to "break" him from his "ice prison".

Three. She was already involved with someone else.

But be that as it may, right now, with the briefing just not catching her interest…and with boredom ensnaring her sense of being, as she stared at his handsome face…that handsome mysterious…enigmatic face…

She knew that she was lost.

She knew that the seed of hidden and forbidden attraction had begun to grow within her once more…

At that thought, she sighed a heavy sigh.

And it would seem that it didn't go unnoticed.

"Is there something wrong?"

The pink-haired woman stiffened. She blushed a bit as she met the casual and impassive eyes of her teammate and sweat-dropped.

Argilla flailed her hands, "Nothing…Just go ahead…"

Gale looked at her intently for a moment before resuming his talk.

'Damn! That was a close call!' she thought with a chuckle. He almost caught her!

So, not wanting to arouse any more suspicion, either from him or from the rest of her teammates, most especially Serph, she let her eyes wander.

Argilla's eyes meandered from Gale to Heat. She looked at him lazily and blinked as she saw his cape. She smiled; that cape had always been with him she reckoned. He had never left without it. She chuckled, 'If Heat loses that thing…I don't think I can ever identify him anymore!' she thought with humor as she imagined herself looking for him within a room filled with their soldiers…all of them without capes.

Then, in that angle, yes, she definitely wouldn't find Heat. He'd be lost in the sea of people…

From there, her eyes meandered over to the youngest member of their group. Cielo. She cheekily smiled as she saw the golden metallic rings that were situated within his braided hair.

'Aww…' she thought; feeling nothing but lighthearted emotions within, 'He looks so cute!' Yes; in her eyes…he looked quaint. He was seated atop a chair, his elbows on the table before him, his face in his hands as he looked at Gale intently…

'Or tries to…' she internally chuckled as she noticed the bored look within his childish facial expression that he tried so hard to conceal.

Well, that was another defining trait she supposed; those rings on him…He wouldn't be the Cielo she knew if he suddenly lost them.

Her eyes then wandered over to her leader and significant other. Yes; her half-mute leader. She looked at him from the corner of her eyes; no. Her lover really didn't have any distinguishable accessory on him…unlike Heat or Cielo.

The only thing that was worth of notice…was his hair.

Yes; those silky silver strands of his…

She had never seen anyone with that hair…

'Well, there was one but…' she paused and then nodded, 'But she doesn't count. She already…' she didn't want to finish that sentence.

Yes; she remembered that one person who had the same hair as her Silver Fox. She shook her head, 'My baby didn't mean to be the bad guy!' she thought defensively, 'I mean…they asked for it!' she thought as she reminisced.

'It's not that…'

Yes; she _definitely_ remembered.

'Metatron and Laura.'

She didn't want to think of their names…but she already did.

'If they…I mean, _he_. If he didn't get in the way then, he would still be alive.' she thought with conviction.

Anyway; that was beside the point. Laura was the only person to have the same silver hair as her Serphy. Well, needless to say, Metatron had to vowed revenge against her Serphy when he had found Laura's ring within Serph's finger.

Well, that was then and this was now. And now, there was just Serph. She chuckled a bit, 'Metatron did taste…'

Yes; he tasted quite…exquisite, she might say.

She grinned darkly; no one had the same hair now. Those two were rookies; looking for a home…Well, that angel and his lover had found a new home alright.

Right within Serph's belly.

She shook her head off such thoughts and again focused on Gale.

Yes. Her sights once more found themselves upon the cold and stoic man.

She looked at him intently, tilting her face to the side as she gazed at him. Suddenly, as their eyes met, the world seemed to freeze…only to resume motion…at such a slow rate. She looked at him and everything in the background froze…

The world had lost its color and now, only his green eyes and green hair was visible…

'Cute…' she thought dreamily as her vision of him continued to expand.

She blinked her eyes several times as another color emerged from her otherwise black and white world.

'Orange…?'

She looked at Gale again and saw that the tribal color from his hood had also begun to shimmer. She looked at him intently, 'Hm…A hood…'

Yes. A hood.

She was suddenly taken aback as she leaned back on the chair's backrest. That hood. She had never really paid attention to it before…

She stifled a laugh, 'Come to think of it…I've never seen Gale without it.'

Yes. It was that hood that made him the Gale that she knew…

'Actually…that hood just makes him look all the more sexy…!' she thought naughtily as she saw images of him clad only in what he had been born in.

She chuckled softly at that.

Yea. That hood definitely added to Gale's general appeal.

'General appeal…? More like sex appeal…' she corrected herself.

That hood not only identified Gale as Gale; moreover, it added the sense of thrill and mysteriousness within his very persona. It was that hood that was rousing Argilla's interest and curiosity at that very second.

It was that hood that hid the rest of his face…and his hair…

She wondered, 'I wonder what he looks underneath…His hair is probably spiked up…! Or it's soft and withered…' she thought, entranced, imagining herself running her hands through his hair…

'He probably takes care of that hair so much that he has to wear the hood all the time…So, no heat…no sun can burn it…' she mentally trailed off.

She sighed.

Yes…She bet that he had probably the softest of hair…the silkiest strands…and the supplest of tresses…

Oh yes. She could definitely imagine it now…With him beneath her and her, straddling him, running her slender fingers through those emerald locks of his…

Her eyes, now dilating fully, as she sunk even further within the abyss of her newfound fantasy, became half-lidded with enchantment, entrancement and enthrallment.

She couldn't help but release a soft heartfelt sigh as her chest heaved up and down from the excitement that eroded her senses.

And her thoughts of her supposed significant other?

'Significant other…? Who's that? What's that?' Argilla asked her conscience stupidly, still eating, drinking and breathing nothing but Gale…

"Argilla?"

She stiffened, "Eh?" she asked as she turned to towards where the voice was coming from. Silver met pink, "Oh! Sorry Serph! What's up?"

He sweat-dropped, "Um…the briefing…"

She raised an eyebrow, "The briefing is…" she trailed off, gesturing for him to continue.

"…is over." he finished.

She blinked, "Eh!? It is!? Whoops!" she said as she sweat-dropped, scratching the back of her head as she immediately stood, "Oh well, let's go then!"

Well, that was embarrassing. Her lover had almost caught her fantasizing! She mentally laughed at that. And what was more pressing was that she had been fantasizing about their cold and mysterious tactician!

Serph opened is mouth to speak but was cutoff as she had dragged him from the room.

xxxxx

The mission had been a success.

She looked at the corpses before her with stern eyes. Those renegades were getting out of control…

But because of Gale's spies, they had been caught, apprehended…while some of them had been killed.

She shook her head.

Oh well. Life was life and death was death.

She began to walk towards the jeep, eager to return to Muladhara when a gust of wind suddenly whiffed through the air.

She gasped involuntarily as her skirt was lifted, giving her teammates a thrilling show. Hoots and whistles were heard as her delicate skin and her long legs displayed themselves shamelessly upon her teammates' eyes.

She glared at them, at their general direction, and growled.

"Grr…Hmph!" she huffed defiantly as she calmed her skirt down.

She looked over at the three males and frowned. Serph had that boyish smile on his face, laughing with Cielo while Heat had that seductive grin.

Wanting to relieve herself off their irritating stares, she then turned to Gale and saw that he was farther from where they all stood. She widened her eyes as she saw him.

There he was, atop a hill of sand a few feet away, struggling with his…his hood as the mischievous breeze had also played with him. She stifled a laugh as she saw him hold down his hood, whilst having that irritated facial expression.

She wanted to laugh at that. She had never seen Gale at such a compromising position before. That gust of wind had almost altogether blown his impassive and cold exterior.

To her, from that angle, he just looked too comical, 'Oh Gale…'

He was still trying to protect that hair, she wagered…

'Hahaha…So cute…' she thought convivially, shaking her head, forgetting all the while that her skirt had once more flown in all directions as another playful wind had passed in between her legs.

Only the sounds of whistles and hoots were heard. But this time, she was deaf to them all…having her attention solely focused on the jade-haired man.

But still it had been a close one! She had been hoping that his hood would've been carried by the breeze…so that it may free her precious Gale's jade locks…

She sighed. Oh well.

Perhaps it wasn't meant to be…

'Yet.' she thought with a giggle.

xxxxx

Serph had just sent her to look for Gale.

She walked along the hallways of the barrack, feeling annoyed. Actually it was a mixture of feelings. A part of her was irritated that she had to go and look for him…and the other was that she was actually looking forward to searching for him.

Why?

"Do I really need to say why?" she asked aloud.

Of course not! This was Gale she was talking about!

Gale…!

'Sex God of the Stoic!' she thought.

But at the same time, it was kind of annoying. Gale was always on time…He was prudent and punctual. Why wasn't he doing that now?

'Where is he anyway?'

The siren had been sounded in each of their rooms for an emergency briefing and yet, Gale was nowhere to be found.

'Oooh boy Gale…Just what are you doing?' she thought nonchalantly. Well, whatever it was, he had better hurry things up!

He was supposed to be the cornerstone of that briefing and he himself was missing!

'Ugh…what a pain…'

'A pain…? Or a thrill?' a voice piped in her head.

She blushed crimson.

'Who knows…? Maybe he's in the showers…Hehe…Or maybe he's putting on his uniform!'

'…'

'Wait! Or better yet, maybe when you find him putting on his uniform maybe he'd ask you for help…ne?'

At that, Argilla couldn't really disagree. But still, she kept her silence. She hadn't forgotten about her real objective. She was to find him and bring him back to the Strategy Room.

She soon neared his room and turned her hand to a fist and raised it high in order to knock but stopped as she saw the metallic doors thrown open. She stiffened; had he already gone?

She walked in cautiously, letting her curiosity get the better of her. She blinked and saw that his hood was on the bed.

She gasped.

'Oh my god! It's…it's impossible!' She walked over to the bed and took the hood in her hands; all the while suppressing a childish giggle.

She felt her heart pound. She had never touched it before…She would only look at it from afar…but never did she think that she would be able to touch it…like the way she did now.

Falling victim to her urges, she brought the piece of uniform up to her nose…and ever so gently…sniffed it.

Her whole body tingled as the residue of Gale's masculine scent that clung oh so desperately on the hood's fabric laid an assault to Argilla's senses…moreover, to her olfactory nerves, driving her almost to the edge of the pit of carnal desire.

'Oh my…! He smells…' she trailed off, 'He smells like this?' she asked in incredulity.

'So different from Serph…' she commented internally, still breathing in the hood's alluring yet strange masculine fragrance.

'Better than his perhaps…?' the voice in her head snickered.

Argilla blushed, 'Maybe…' she thought dreamily, forgetting all about her silver-haired partner.

No longer feeling irritated by his absence at the Strategy Room, she smiled as she once more found herself within her fantasy world.

What fantasy world?

The one wherein he lay beneath her; the one wherein she straddled him and ran her fingers through his silky locks.

She grinned like a Cheshire cat as she realized that she held within her hands that of which defined her enigmatic sex god.

Oh yes…

It was the hood. It wasn't just _a_ hood. It was _the_ hood. It was _his_ hood.

Finally, after countless days and nights of wondering, pondering, contemplating, his secret would be hers and hers alone to divulge and disclose…

It would be she who would unlock the mystery of life that was him…

It would be she alone to whom her jade-eyed enigma would reveal himself.

Oh yes. This triumph would be hers and hers alone.

'Funny…' she giggled, 'I wonder if he would prefer to make love with his hood on…or without it.' she thought naughtily, once more imagining herself and him.

'But I think I'd like him with the hood…Hehehe…' she thought evilly as she grinned, entertaining her now growing fetish for Gale's hood.

She snapped back to reality as she heard light shuffling within the room. She blinked, 'Aa! The bathroom!'

Well, this was her chance…

To see her beloved's hair…

Wait a moment. Beloved?

'Isn't Serph our beloved?' a part of her asked.

She snorted at that. Dull. That was the word that she would use to describe her supposed beloved. Everything about her silver-haired lover was dull.

'Right from his uniform…down to the way he wears his hair…' she thought sourly as she imagined Serph's standard and generic uniform down to his inverse garlic-shaped hairstyle. She shuddered.

'Serph's hair is dull…But Gale's is…yes! That's the kind of hair that would sweep any girl off her feet!' she internally justified; enthralled.

No longer having an effective control of her limbs, she let herself be pulled at the direction in which her feet saw fit; right outside his lavatory.

She smiled and considered the situation at hand. There was no sound of gushing water…

'No…He isn't bathing…So, it's perfectly decent for me to…take a little peek!' she thought excitedly.

She looked at the door and saw that it was halfway open.

She froze as she heard his deep masculine voice, "Hm…Where is that…? Aa…There it is…"

Her smile widened; even his voice was enthralling!

'So…Oh so sexy…' she thought agonizingly, stifling a groan.

Yes. His voice was indeed something that she considered erotically stimulating…Now if only he would whisper words into her ears at night…every night…for the rest of her life…

Oh how she could just fall asleep listening to his alluring voice…That deep, cool…husky voice…

'Maybe it's time to consider other possibilities…' she thought snidely as she considered her chances with the green-haired man.

Well…What was there not to like about him? He was strong, honorable…intelligent…

'Handsome…' she finished. 'With those deep green eyes…and that hair…! That mysterious rich hair!' she thought.

Feeling her being be engulfed by the fires of curiosity…and blinding desire, she pressed herself against the door and slowly took a tiny peek…

Her eyes widened and her heart pounded like a jackhammer, her lips reaching her ears, 'He's so…hot…!' she thought as she saw that he was nude…

Well, not really…

He was clad in nothing but a towel. A white towel was wrapped around the man's waist. Argilla let her pink orbs meander all over his body starting from his feet…

From there, her sight rose and saw his muscled limbs. She snickered quietly, 'Those legs would be a problem…They could probably crush me!' she thought, a blush reaching her cheeks.

Oh yes…It was those legs, those powerful legs that would hold her body in place…It was those legs that would subdue her writhing body… keeping her in position so that she may ready herself…to prepare herself to receive him…

From there, her eyes wandered to his towel and her face blushed a deeper shade of crimson.

She could only leave to her naughtiest and wildest imagination what lay within…

'I wonder…how well equipped he is…?' she asked, biting her lip as she tried to keep herself calm, urging her raging blood to settle down within her veins.

'I'll bet that…he could just go on for hours and hours…' she trailed off, her eyes twinkling in erotic mischief.

And from there, her eyes settled on his abdomen and his flat stomach. His skin was spotless…with only a few moles every here and there. His abdomen was packed with muscles that only hinted at his prowess…and stamina.

Now, more than ever, she felt her desire for the man before her to increase tenfold.

'Oh…What I wouldn't give for maple syrup right about now…' she fantasized as she imagined herself pouring the sweet liquid upon his abs…before licking it off completely from him sensuously…running her wet tongue against his skin's smooth texture.

She was thankful though that her willpower was cooperating as she remained perfectly still on that spot in which she stood.

From there, her eyes crept up even further, wandering ever boldly upon his delectable body…

Argilla's eyes, that were now half-lidded with the feeling of lightheadedness, ambled still and now found his strong and muscled chest.

'Nice…' she thought as she licked her lips in appreciation, fantasizing herself kissing it and running her fingers along his rippling muscles.

A moment later, after that moment of poignant appreciation, her eyes meandered upwards still, towards his neck, ready for the next pulse of carnal desire to surge through her…

And she wasn't disappointed…! From there, her eyes strolled still…

Suddenly; her heart stopped.

'W-what…!?' she asked herself in disbelief as her eyes had attached itself to the sight before her.

There was her dreamboat, leaning slight forward as he inspected himself.

There…she saw him…

As handsome as ever…

With the same deep and cold emerald eyes…with the same cool and calculating gaze…and the same luscious lips that she found irresistible…

But…

'Oh my…I…I don't believe it!' she screamed as she appraised him.

Now she knew why he always had that hood…

There, in front of the mirror, leaning forward slightly, did Gale stand, with…a bald patch on the middle of his head.

Her stomach began to churn as her brain began to interpret the implications and the real meaning of what she had just borne witness to.

There he was, looking at himself intently in the mirror, arranging his hair so that the green strands at the sides of his head would spread itself onto the middle, thereby making up for the lacking hair and the receding hairline.

She couldn't breathe at that moment as she continued to watch him with widened eyes, her mouth hung agape in complete and total disbelief.

He resembled those medieval priests as the top of his head was completely bare, the only hair they posses surrounding it…

'Gale…the hottie…the sexy…mysterious…the handsome guy…' she mentally trailed off, completely shocked, 'is bald…!!!!' she screamed internally.

Her eyes narrowed then as they focused solely on the bare patch of skin on the green-haired man's head, zooming in three times in a row.

There, his scalp smiled back at her proudly. And what was this…? Did it…sparkle!? Was his scalp…shining!?

Her intestines tied itself in a knot, 'He probably takes good care of that patch too…'

Wait. Were those, tiny nerves slightly protruding from his scalp?

'Ack! Just like an old man!' she thought; sickened, with her spine having that heavy and hot feeling, all the while making her feel cold. Cold sweat, she reckoned, was being formed.

His jade tresses that she had long admired from afar were nothing more than a prelude towards a dead-end. The strands of green that neared the empty lot were thin…weak…

'Oh my God…No…! Not Gale…! Anyone but him! Take anyone else…but him!' she screamed once more; willing to herself that it would have been better should her mouth have yelled it instead of her head.

Yes. She wanted to scream at the gods. She wanted the cosmos to hear her agony.

'Take Serph! Take him! Just not Gale…!'

'If not, take Heat…Or Cielo! Yes! Cielo would do nicely! He has plenty of hair to go around…!!' she thought hysterically, bargaining even the youngest member of their group for the exchange of the return of Gale's hair with an imaginary deity within her own mind.

She was screaming at those phantoms of a god, willing them to take life of their own, to take shape and appear to her.

But alas, she knew that it wasn't to be.

Gale…really was…bald.

And there was nothing that she could do about it.

'No hair…No hair…He has no hair…' she repeated over and over as she continued to be stupefied on the spot.

Gale could feel eyes on him…He stiffened and sharply turned to face the intruder. Green met pink.

His eyes widened and there, within his teammate's hands, did he see his hood.

He couldn't breathe. This was…

Damning.

"Give me that!" he yelled angrily as he grabbed the aforesaid hood before shoving the female out of the lavatory and slamming the door loudly and rudely at her face.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Argilla as she stumbled backwards before falling on her rear on his cold floor.

xxxxx

Argilla once more found herself within their bed, staring blankly at the ceiling in the middle of the night as the world slumbered on…

The scenario with Gale, even if it had transpired only hours prior, had remained to be an experience that she deemed…unreal.

She blinked.

Right after she had fallen on his floor, she had picked herself up and had dashed from the scene…And when Serph had asked her where Gale was…

She couldn't bring herself to do it…She couldn't bring herself to say anything…

Flashback

"_Argilla," Serph began with a deep masculine tone, "where is Gale?" _

_She, looked at him with her lips slightly quivering, her eyes beginning to water, "G-Gale…? O-oh…eeh…I…I didn't get to…to find him…" she lied. _

"_And why is that?" Serph asked, his suspicion steadily mounting. _

"_Eh…eh…You…you see…" she stammered, not really knowing what to say. What was she to say anyway!? Was she going to tell him that she had indeed found him, dressing himself…?! But then if she did, he'd ask as to why she did not wait for him and brought him with her. _

_What was she to say then!? Was she supposed to reply, then, that she had been startled by what she had seen in his room that she had run away from there? That it was because of what she had seen that her beliefs, the very foundations of her spirit had been shaken? _

"_What's the commotion about?" asked a deep and stoic voice. _

_All heads whipped around to meet the cool and cold façade of their emerald-eyed teammate. _

_Argilla felt her throat parched. _

'_Beneath that hood…and deeper within those locks…of green hair…' she halted her words temporarily as she choked, 'is that bald space…!' she thought; her stomach churning painfully. _

_But still, for the sake of her pride and to elude her lover's suspicion, she met Gale's eyes steadfastly as he met hers. _

_She nodded at him and he nodded back. _

_Nothing was amiss. _

_She would keep his secret. _

End Flashback

Yes. She would.

'After all, I can't tell Serph that I practically stalked Gale in his bathroom and saw him half-naked!'

And on the other hand, with the way Gale had reacted, she could deduce that the…issue about his…condition…was something that he wouldn't have generally known. So, she would keep his secret. She owed him that much at least after trespassing into his room and technically shadowing him.

She, once more, turned to her side…and was met face to face with her sleeping lover…She appraised him silently…objectively…without an ounce of affection or emotive feeling.

She suddenly sat up and her hand suddenly hovered above his face and from there stealthily moved towards his head.

'God give me strength!' she mentally shouted, her soul now burning with sheer conviction.

'What if…what if he's just wearing a toupee!?' she internally shrieked, again having her abnormally wild imagination run amuck.

Having her eyes burn with resolve and rigidity, her fingers immediately dove for her lover's rich silver hair and grasped fistfuls of his silvery tresses firmly…almost painfully.

Her heart got caught up in her throat as she did so, hoping against hope, praying to each and every god out there that her fears may not come true…

Her breathing had stopped for but a moment as she continued her inspection of him, her eyes burning with the fires of conviction now…her soul screaming for confirmation…of affirmation that not all truths had been lies!

'No! Don't let it be…!'

A moment later, she breathed in easy…

Nothing but rich and soft hair caressed her slender fingers as she touched her lover's head and scalp.

Aa…

Nothing but sweet, sweet rich hair!

'Oh God…! Just saccharine ample hair!' she thought with outmost glee and relief.

Her hand left her lover's scalp and hair and she fell back on the bed, her eyes once more on the ceiling.

'Good…' she said, trailing off mentally, 'I thought that…'

She almost choked at that. She didn't even want to think about it.

She almost thought that Serph's hair was a mere façade…like the way Gale's was.

At the thought of Gale, she shuddered and buried herself deeper within the covers. Who would've thought that Gale was bald!?

She snorted, 'Eww…no wonder he needs that hood…'

Now having realized the whole truth, what served as her flight of fancy, became something that had thrown the pink-haired woman within a maelstrom of nightmarish delusion.

'That hood…' she thought with a shiver. That hood was what protected that shiny scalp of his; that shiny bald scalp.

She suddenly wiped her face over and over with her palms, 'And to think I touched that!! Eww…! And I smelled it too!' she thought to herself, disgusted, her skin crawling.

'Maybe it was the excessive dandruff that caused him to be bald?' a voice within her chimed with humor.

She frowned at that; that wasn't funny.

No. It wasn't. Now that she had thought about dandruff, her feelings of childish and feminine disgust began to steadily heighten.

"Ack! Gross…!" she squealed, "Oh my god…! What if…what if that hood had…dandruff in it!?" she asked nervously, albeit hysterically, imagining the hood that she had nuzzled against her face, the hood that she had smelled, possessing the little specs of beige-colored dead flakes of skin.

"Gross…!"

Yes. In her opinion, thinking of the causes of baldness most especially the dead flakes of skin which were dandruff just made her blood run cold, her spine tingle and her skin crawl.

She willed her mind to calm down. There was just no way that Gale was _that_ unhygienic! He may be bald but he wasn't filthy.

Right?

'I hope so…'

At that, her thoughts returned to the plausible causes of Gale's premature balding.

'Maybe it was that hood…' she thought, putting aside the disgusting thoughts about the aforesaid headgear.

'That hood!?' she asked herself in utter disbelief.

'Yea. Because that hood always covers his hair, maybe it didn't get any breathing space…so…'

'So it died out of suffocation?!' she mentally screamed.

The world froze.

"Eww…!" she squealed.

'That's so gross!'

'Enough!' she screamed at herself, shutting her eyes tightly.

But then again, she couldn't help but sympathize though. All affronts aside, she thought of Gale's predicament objectively.

Perhaps…being Embryon's tactician had taken its toll on him…

"Poor guy…He's so young…"

She once more opened her eyes as she turned to her side, gazing at her silver-haired partner. She cheekily smiled, "I'll never look at someone else ever again…"

Yes; she considered this to be nothing but the work of good-old karma.

Because she had dared to fantasize about another man, she had had her fantasy ripped and shredded into pieces by fate.

She snorted, 'Yea, yea…I'll be a good girl from now on!'

She then scooted over to him and embraced him as tightly as she could. She inhaled his scent and sighed in contentment…

Did Gale really smell better than Serph did?

'Nah…' she thought with a giggle as she continued to nuzzle herself against her lover's bare chest.

After a blissful moment with her sleeping partner, Argilla found that her thoughts had again meandered over to Gale. She frowned, "Oh…he's such a waste! Such a loss…A blow to the Junkyard female populace…" she whispered regretfully, a bit spitefully.

Before, she had heard of a funny saying…

"Clothes maketh the man…"

She didn't really agree with that. She had always said that inner beauty was more important and that character was what defined a person…

And now…she couldn't really believe in that anymore.

She froze as she saw a bald Gale in her mind and she shivered again.

"That's just…wrong."

She shut her eyes tightly and willed her mind to feed her an image of Gale wherein he wore his hood, concealing his hideous secret within.

"That's better."

"Clothes maketh the man eh…?" she snorted condescendingly, "Maybe they were right…"

Maybe.

She wasn't sure if she agreed with that…but one thing was for sure. That hood made Gale what he was. It was that hood that identified him from the rest.

She snorted at that.

'Without that hood, he'd just be some…some…_bald guy_.' she thought; slightly wrinkling her nose.

She smirked; perhaps it was time to reform that saying.

Clothes maketh the man?

"No." she snickered, "_Hoods_ maketh the Ashura."

xxxxx

FIN

**A/N: **

**I have nothing against baldness. It is a natural process. Some people like it, some people don't. The opinions expressed here by the character pertaining to baldness is purely for the work of fanfiction and isn't necessarily congruent with that of the author. **

**As for my friend Izzy, this was I suppose, an indirect response to his taunt. He was scaring me that childbirth actually can cause baldness in women!! Ack! And yes, he has long flowing auburn hair!! Hahah!**

**Well, hmph! **

**Yes. Studies have shown that childbirth can be linked to hair loss experienced by women (hormonal discrepancies). So, hehehe…I have to be careful and be prepared ne? **

**But general baldness is usually hereditary or because of excessive and overwhelming stress. **

**NO. Dandruff does NOT cause baldness but is often occurring hand-in-hand. **

**And no, having dandruff does not imply unhygienic behavior by the person. No. Although this isn't a fact, many people sadly believe that dandruff is a result of poor hygienic habits…sigh Well, I'll say it again: DANDRUFF DOESN'T OCCUR BECAUSE YOU'RE FILTHY! **

**Dandruff is merely flakes of dead skin that is caused by the slight inflammation of the scalp. **

**In this fic though, it is just suggested by Argilla. Hehehe! Shows what she knows! LOL! Or the lack thereof! Ahem! I am NOT BASHING Argilla. **

**Serph's garlic hairstyle: LOL! I have to admit that I've borrowed this from a friend of mine. YES NESSA-CHAN! It's you! LOL! You've used that against Serph numerous times within our convos that I couldn't resist but borrow that phrase for this fic! I hope you don't mind! **

**Anyway, I made this piece because…I was searching for a way to defame Gale the way I defamed Heat in BBB (Blankety Blank of a Blanky). LOL! **

**But rest assured I am not bashing Gale. Gale is a sweetheart! It's just that ****variety is the spice of life. **


End file.
